Winston Duke's Road To Hollywood Stardom

Winston Duke first met Chadwick Boseman during a "Black Panther" screen test, and they were asked to grapple — after all, their first big scene together in the movie is a brutal wrestling match. While reminiscing about the brawl on "The Tonight Show," Duke revealed that he had wrestled competitively in high school and college. While this might have given him an advantage over some actors, he pointed out that Boseman had martial arts training.

The fake fighting got so fierce that Duke's pants ripped, possibly giving his opponent the upper hand. He was wearing a beaded bracelet that broke as well, but he embraced the destruction, telling the Los Angeles Times, "To be honest, it just literally put me in the moment more." He also pointed out that the moment had to at least leave an impression on everyone in the room who witnessed it. He quipped to Jimmy Fallon, "'If I don't get this job,' and I said that to them right then and there, I was like, 'You guys are gonna have to buy me new pants.'"

Once he proved that he was the perfect fit for the role of the fearsome mountain chief M'Baku, being able to fight like a warrior wasn't enough — Duke had to look the part. This meant hitting the gym hard and consuming a whopping 4,000 calories each day, per ES.

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